Just Make it out Alive
by BlueBumbler
Summary: After a relatively boring adventure, Rick settles into the garage for an evening of drinking. However, getting so drunk relaxes his tongue, and he finds himself answering questions he never would have while sober. Morty almost regrets asking... (A/N) First time writing for Rick and Morty. No C-137cest in this fic, though I DO ship it. XD Warning: Mentions of Domestic Abuse.


Rick watched as the rain poured down from the open garage door, watching lightning flash and enjoying the deep rumble of thunder that followed. It was soothing, relaxing. Especially when you were already drunk off of five or six shots of whiskey. Or was it seven? Hell, he didn't remember and he didn't care. All that mattered was that he was content and relaxed for once. He would enjoy it while he could.

A quiet click signaled that the door connecting the garage to the house was opening, and he didn't even have to look back to know who it was. He didn't say a word, instead taking another deep drink from his flask.

Soft steps came closer until they were right beside him, and then there was silence for a few seconds as the person seemed to be judging the situation. Then the sound of shuffling as he sat down beside Rick's chair on the cold cement of the garage floor.

"Hey." Morty said in greeting, getting a grunt in return. Not that he had been expecting more. He smiled a little as he watched the rain as well. "Today was fun. F-fun adventure. I mean, n-n-not a lot happened, but I enjoyed it."

Rick finally glanced at his grandson, expression neutral. "Yep. Not a b-uuuurp-bad adventure, Morty. Got my li'rik crystals and got home without even - even being shot at. Kind of feels like a waste."

Morty glanced up at Rick with a confused expression. "Do you... I dunno, like the adrenaline rush or something? A-a-are you an adrenaline junkie?"

The elder gave a small chuckle. "Who knows, Morty."

Morty smiled and shook his head fondly before returning his gaze to the storm. Lightning flashed and thunder rolled, so deep and bassy that it shook the house a little. The wind picked up and Morty closed his eyes as he took a deep breath of the fresh, crisp air. Nothing smelled better than rain. If only candles could truly capture the scent.

As soothing as the rain was though, it made him wonder if his father's apartment was holding up to the storm well. He wondered if the roof leaked, if it was drafty and cold. He wondered if his dad was happy... and then he realized that he couldn't be. He was alone.

After a few short moments of silence, Morty spoke up once more. "Hey, Rick? Do you think... think Mom and Dad will ever get back together?" he asked softly.

Rick hadn't been expecting that and turned his gaze to Morty with a confused frown. "What the hell, Morty? How sh-should I know? If my daughter does the smart thing and does - does what's right for her, no, they won't. But love m-makes people do d-uugh-umb things." He took another chug from his flask.

Morty pouted a little as he glanced at his grandpa. "Well, I mean... It's natural to want to help someone you love. O-o-or used to love."

"Morty, love is stupid. It gets in the way of common sense, i-i-it can be used to manipulate people, it -buuurp- it ruins lives, Morty." Rick concluded with a scowl.

The teen looked at his grandpa with something like horror in his eyes. "Aw jeez, Rick. What the hell happened to make you this way? Wh-who hurt you?"

Rick tensed at that before giving a humorless laugh. "Hurt me? D-d-don't be dumb, Morty. No one can hurt me because I won't let them. I'm not weak and stupid like the rest of you."

Morty frowned a little. "You were young once too, Rick. You weren't always the smartest, most jaded man in the multiverse. I-I-I mean, you were innocent once. Right?"

"Pff, innocent. Right, like we all get that chance, Morty." he huffed before raising his flask to his lips - and pausing when he realized there was nothing left. Sighing, he hefted himself up out of his seat. "Need more to drink." he mumbled as he started for his mini-fridge, stumbling and swaying on his way there.

Morty watched Rick with a concerned expression, vaguely wondering if he truly needed more to drink, but he was more concerned about what his grandfather had said before that. "Wh-wh-what do you mean? That not everyone gets the chance t-to be innocent."

"It means exactly what it sounds like it means, MORTY." Rick called over his shoulder curtly as he poured vodka into his flask this time, spilling a little in the process. "Not all families work the way they're -uugh- they're supposed to. I mean, this family isn't perfect, but fuck."

Morty cocked his head a little and gave a curious expression. "...What was your family like then?"

Rick scowled a little as he screwed the cap closed on his flask, not answering his grandson right away. He sighed and let out another belch before turning on unsteady feet to walk back to his seat. "It was fucked up." he started as he plopped back down into his seat.

It was silent for a moment after that, and Morty had began to think that Rick wasn't going to explain any further than that, but then he spoke again.

"My dad was an abusive, violent, alcoholic piece of shit. He'd - he'd come home and l-uuurp-look for reasons to beat my mom. Dinner was cold, dinner was too hot, the fucking m-m-mashed potatos were too lumpy." He looked down at his flask and scowled, sloshing the liquid inside slowly in an idle manner, his eyes half-lidded and distant. "Couldn't tell ya how many times I came home from school to see her sitting at the table, wiping tears from her eyes and b-blood from her nose."

Morty's eyes had gone wide as he listened, staring at his grandfather in shock. He became aware that his jaw was hanging open and he slowly closed it, swallowing to try and cure the sudden dryness that had engulfed his mouth. "O-oh... Jeez, I... I had no idea, Rick... I'm sorry..."

The older just shrugged. "N-n-nothing to be sorry about, Morty." he said, his tone rather emotionless. "That's the way life is. You open up, you decide to love someone, a-a-and then they use it against you. He took the same vows my mother did, Morty. Love and cherish and all that shit. Ugh, such bull shit." he spat between clenched teeth before opening his flask and taking another deep drink.

For a moment, Morty just mulled over this new information and thought very carefully before speaking up again, "D-d-did your mom leave him?"

A heavy sigh spilled from Rick's lips, a burp that somehow managed to sound halfhearted escaping with it. "No, Morty... She stayed with him. Through the beatings, the cheating, the screaming... sh-sh-she stayed with him. Out of fear or love, I don't - don't honestly know."

Morty couldn't keep the expression of sorrow off of his face. "H-h-he cheated on her too?"

"M-Morty, I don't think you understand how much of a shit bag my dad was." he said as he shifted in his seat, crossing his legs lazily to get more comfortable. "I came home from school some evenings -uuurp- to see my mom sitting on the couch, crying her eyes out, and you know why?"

Morty shook his head quickly, watching his grandpa closely for the answer.

"Because her husband had dragged a cheap hooker into our house and told his own wife that if she was better, he wouldn't have to go elsewhere for sex. He fucked other women in her bed, Morty. Locked her - locked her out of her own room while he had sex with whatever slut would let him. All while she sat on the living room couch, crying and having to listen to all of it."

The boy took a shuddering breath, feeling anger and sadness welling sharply within his heart. He had never met his great grandmother, but all he wanted to do was hold her. "Wh-what did you do, Rick?" he asked eagerly.

Rick looked confused. "What?"

"What did you do? I-I-I mean, you wouldn't just let - let him get away with that." Morty said with unwavering certainty. But the look that came into Rick's eyes was so sad and soul crushing that Morty instantly lost that security, that sense that Rick had always been able to do whatever popped into his head.

"I couldn't do anything, Morty. Jeez, I was only thirteen, i-i-it's not like I was gonna k-buuuurp-kill my own dad." he huffed, though there seemed to be some small semblance of amusement in his tone. It faded away though as he continued, "All I could do was try to take the beatings for her." His gaze settled back on his flask, but it was obvious that he wasn't really seeing it. "I baited that bastard into - into beating me instead of her, but... she would always try to protect me, try to get b-uuugh-etween us..."

Morty watched as Rick shook his head slowly, his heart aching as he could feel the weight of that simple action. "...What happened?" he asked so quietly that he wasn't sure his voice would reach Rick through the thick fog of alcohol and dark memories.

But somehow it did, and Rick replied solemnly. "She had to be taken to the emergency room. Bastard nearly beat her to death. I-I-I was so fuckin' pissed at her." he seethed through clenched teeth.

Morty was taken aback. "Wh-wha? Why? She protected you!" he pointed out quickly, almost defensively.

Rick suddenly turned a scowl on Morty. "Because if she hadn't, she would've been fine! I-I-I was young, strong, I healed better than her! She was exhausted, still aching from the - the beating she'd gotten last night and every night before that!"

Those words hit deep, and Morty drooped under the realization of what Rick was saying. "Oh..."

"If she'd just... Ah, fuck it..." he growled before settling into his seat once more and taking a deep drink of vodka, his hands shaking. He was drunk, but not nearly drunk enough. Or maybe he was too drunk... Yeah, that had to be it. Otherwise he would never have started talking about this shit to begin with.

It was quiet for a tense moment, only the sound of rain and thunder permeating the garage, before Morty carefully spoke up again. "So... d-d-did he get arrested? After she was taken - taken to the emergency room?"

Rick sighed heavily. "They took him in for questioning, he gave them the 'she f-uuurp-fell down the stairs' bullshit."

"A-and they beleived him?" Morty asked in horror.

He shook his head. "I d-uuurp-oubt it, but Mom backed up his story. She covered for him, l-l-like she always did... If she wouldn't - wouldn't tell them the truth, there wasn't a whole hell of a lot they could do about it." Rick took a deep, exasperated breath. "Fuckin' stupid... It all could have ended that night, Morty. Sh-sh-she could've gotten away from him, could have had him thrown in jail, and instead she lied to save his ass. Because she fuck -uuugh- fucking loved him. I had never been so pissed at her. I... fuck, I yelled at her."

Morty listened quietly, his heart aching. He never thought he would hear such emotional pain in Rick's voice, never thought he would see him like this. He wanted to help, to offer some form of comfort... but he knew it was unlikely that Rick would even accept comfort. So he waited, quietly and patiently, for him to continue.

It took a moment, but Rick did continue. "I called her stupid, t-told her she should've just let him beat the shit out of me, told her she should've - should've just told the police the truth. Anything was b-uuurp-better than letting him kill her." He paused, turning his flask over in his hand and studying it with unseeing eyes. "D-d-don't think I'll ever forget what she told me."

Morty waited eagerly for his grandpa to continue, to tell him what she had said, but the silence stretched on, only the rolling thunder offering reprieve from the suspense. Finally, Morty couldn't wait any longer and he carefully prompted Rick to continue, "Wh-what did she say?"

The older blinked and looked at Morty as though he'd forgotten that he was there. Realizing that he'd trailed off, he mentally backtracked and took another drink of vodka before continuing. "She told me it wasn't the p-uurp-lace of the kid to protect the parent. Said it was her job to keep me safe and keep him happy. She told me it was my job to just... just make it out alive."

Rick heaved yet another heavy sigh, that same faraway look in his eyes. "So that's what I did. I tried- fuck I tried - to get her to leave him, but she wouldn't. So, wh-when I turned sixteen, I left. Fuckin' p-p-packed up what I needed and just left. Never saw either of them a-ugh-gain."

Silence fell yet again and Morty didn't prompt his grandpa to continue this time. He just thought, thinking about how awful that must have been. It couldn't have been easy for Rick to just leave his mother that way, but... he understood why he had.

Quietly, Morty spoke up. "Wow... I never knew... Mom never told me..."

Rick chuckled humorlessly. "Because she doesn't know, Morty. And she doesn't need to."

The boy's eyes widened and he looked at his grandpa in shock. Rick had never told his own daughter about his past? But yet... Rick had told HIM.

Morty felt like he had been given something very special and meaningful. Something that was more than a dark secret. It was the reason. The reason for so many of Rick's actions that often hurt those around him. It was the reason why Rick is... Rick.

"I-I-I won't tell Mom. Or anyone." he said, despite feeling that he didn't really need to.

Rick nodded softly, wordlessly, and returned his attention fully to the storm still rolling outside.

After a few moments, there was a knock at the door and Morty glanced back to see his mother open the door and peek inside. Seeing her now, after everything he'd been told, made Morty's heart ache and he just wanted to hug her.

Beth smiled tiredly, "Dinner is ready you two."

"Kay." Morty replied, getting to his feet and brushing off the dirt and dust that had gotten on his jeans from sitting on the floor. Beth had slipped back inside before he made it to the door, and he paused, looking over his shoulder at where his grandpa still sat, staring out at the rain.

"A-a-aren't you coming, Rick?" he asked softly.

"N-uurp-nope. I'm drink - drinking my dinner tonight, Morty."

Morty had expected as much, and nodded softly before reaching out to grip the door knob. However, he hesitated, nipping his bottom lip before speaking. "Did you ever... call your mom? To see... see how she was doing?"

There was a brief silence before Rick replied. "Didn't have to, Morty. She died a few months after I left."

Those words sent a chill up Morty's spine and he couldn't think of anything to say other than a weak, "Oh..." He didn't know what else to say. Saying 'I'm sorry' wouldn't help anything, and he knew Rick didn't want sympathy.

With a heavy heart and nothing left to say, Morty simply said, "See ya later Rick," and exited the garage, closing the door gently behind him.

When he reached the kitchen and saw his mother there, setting out warm food and smiling as she talked with Summer, he felt a smile grace his lips. His mother was here. She was strong, courageous, willful. Just like Rick.

She would be fine. She would make it through the divorce and probably be better and stronger for it.

She would make it out alive.

Just like Rick.


End file.
